


Transferring from the Pentagon

by Fig Newton (sg_fignewton)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Character Study, Episode Related, Gen, Women in the Military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 15:55:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18097472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sg_fignewton/pseuds/Fig%20Newton
Summary: Captain Sam Carter, transferring from the Pentagon in COTG.





	Transferring from the Pentagon

**Author's Note:**

> Written in August 31 for a bingo square, "women in canon."

When she wears her utilitarian, deliberately shapeless BDUs, Samantha Carter is just another soldier, defined more by rank and competence than her gender. She blends in with everyone else when a stranger walks into the room. Her hairstyle, her alto voice, and her slightly smaller frame are rapid giveaways, true; but that initial impression is the one that lingers, and she always values it. If nothing else, the observed shift in reaction when realization does come is something that speaks volumes and enables her to adjust her own attitude accordingly.

Dress blues (with the emphasis on _dress_ ) rob her of that momentary anonymity. She becomes _woman_ first, _Air Force officer_ second. A few blessed commanders like General Hammond don't bat an eye, but the little she's been permitted to see of Colonel Jack O'Neill's dossier - years of brutal fighting long before women have been officially allowed anywhere near combat units, not to mention the dismissive tone in his reports of the scientists who worked on the Stargate before it first opened - suggest that he's going to be an all-too-familiar story. He won't see a captain of the Air Force; he'll see a _woman_ , learn she's a _scientist_ , and dismiss all her hard work and qualifications.

 _Never mind O'Neill's attitude,_ Sam tells herself as she marches toward the briefing room, her posture rigid in her formal dress blues and her eyes focused straight ahead. _The important thing is that you're finally here, with the right to work on the Stargate and walk through it._

She pauses for a last deep breath in the doorway.

"I'd prefer to put together my own team, sir."

That would be the colonel. Not a promising sign.

"Not on this mission, sorry." Hammond's voice is brisk. "Carter's our expert on the Stargate."

"Where's he transferring from?" O'Neill asks, sounding unenthusiastic.

It's her cue.

" _She_ is transferring from the Pentagon," Sam declares firmly, and strides forward.


End file.
